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 Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:47 pm
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Joka paced along one of the many cliffs that sat within pridal borders, her posture tense. Inevitably, now that she was an adolescent, conversations with her peers, or even caregivers, often centered around what role she wanted to fill in the pride when she became an adult...and it made her tense.
Not because she had any doubts of what she wanted to become, but more because of what she was. As one of the cubs of a lioness who had not been married to the father of said cubs, while some did not choose to view it as the fault of the cubs themselves....many did.
While it accomplished no small degree of determination, at least in her case, to make sure she didn't have a similar lapse in judgement, it also made her impatient to grow up, and prove herself something other than a representation of the behaviors that more traditional pride members saw as the source of their misfortune. She usually did her best to ignore it - she loved her family, and while she often wished that her parents had been married...well, it was a waste of time to wish for things that could not be changed.
Today, in particular, had been a bad day. It had started off as normal, but some of the more vocally disapproving members of the pride had seemed to be out in force, and the stares, and that crawling feeling of being gossiped about had finally driven her to seek out the solitude of the cliffs.
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 8:10 am
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He'd had a busier time than he anticipated lately, in no small part because they had been 'invaded' by two very determined lionesses. The two Kizingo'zaa females had been lovely, and one had even been divine in nature, but they had taken their leave not long after they had been mended. Changes were afoot if they were to be believed and quite frankly, Siarnaq had no reason to doubt them.
...The older lioness in particular seemed full of intent, he wouldn't have been brave enough to mess with her. Not that he didn't think he could over power her, but she had a personality that would very firmly place him back in his box. He knew better than to play with that type of fire and he had better hills to die upon.
He was curious for what they had planned though.
Nevertheless he had been graced with some time to himself as his guard rotation ended and he meandered aimlessly here and there. He had no immediate plans (then again he rarely did), but as he caught sight of a fairly familiar figure on the nearby cliffs he quickly found himself moving in that direction.
Joka was his half-sister, he knew her form anywhere.
True to form it didn't take him much time to get to her vantage point and rather than wait on ceremony he simply padded towards the lioness who seemed to be a touch 'down' for want of a better word.
"You know you can always slap them," he pointed out calmly, even though he didn't know what the cause of her mood was. "It isn't really a crime to bap someone for being deliberately offensive."
He paused.
"Just a touch uncouth... Maybe."
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 1:03 am
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"I would expect nothing less," Siarnaq shook his head. "If you didn't have any finesse you know fine well that your aunt would be on you," he smirked. His mother was a fiery creature and full of opinions; though Krisis had been relatively quiet over the recent rumblings that didn't mean she had lost her spark entirely. She had views, but for now she reserved most of her nagging for her own children and their antics... She was above politics.
Well, she was above it for now at least.
"You would be drilled to within an inch of your life to raise your paws just right," he shook his head. "You know there's probably a way to do it indefinitely without hurting your paws? I'd bet my mom would know exactly how to do that," he admitted.
To Siarnaq it would be fairly entertaining to watch her smack some of the more hardline traditionalists senseless, but he also knew that at this point it would serve no purpose. In the grand scheme of things the pride was in a political cyclone and it would take more tact and subtlety to overcome in than blatant screams and shouts. He wasn't smart enough to know how to approach it yet, but he remained hopeful that someone would in time.
To their credit the diplomats were doing their jobs at least, pursuing leads in to 'safe' prides for those who did skirt the rules, but Shui had also been very quiet as of late. His movements had been slow and calculated, but certainly not controversial on the face of it.
...It was only when you looked more closely that you would see he was solidifying his power base.
"Alternatively we can always get those little bud things for your ears so you can't hear them? I saw someone walking about with those in a while ago, they seemed quite effective."
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 9:43 pm
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Her smile broadened, becoming a little more genuine. "I'd spend months perfecting my technique,..." she trailed off. "I wonder who she'd have me slap as my final test?" She mused aloud. Knowing her aunt, possibly one of her siblings who had most recently stepped out of line?
"It's a pity that it'd only make things worse overall, hmm?" She wrinkled her nose at Siarnaq. She knew that things would get better - once she'd proven herself, and her mother's "transgression" was less obvious, everyone but the most persistent of gossips would let it fade from active discussion.
Things had settled into an uneasy balance between the traditionalists and the more modern-thinking members of the pride...not that she knew all that much about what had come before, having been born shortly after the rather strong course-correct Shui had initiated on the Bahari, culturally.
At Siarnaq's next words, she rolled her eyes, mock-swatting at her half-sibling. She was pretty damn lucky, really - she wouldn't trade her family - both direct and extended - for anything, she thought warmly, her thoughts finally veering away from the frustrations that had brought her out here in the first place.
"What's it like, being one of the Nyangumi, Siarnaq?" She turned to face him, her expression intent.
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 1:00 am
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"You might have to slap the King," Siarnaq waggled his eyebrows. Krisis wasn't likely to provoke that controversy but if there was ever one to do it, it probably would have been her. She'd never been shy about her words and her children all knew it... when she wasn't happy, you tended to know about it.
Nevertheless his sibling was right, in the end any action she took would only make matters worse. She'd only be feeding into their narrative depending on how she reacted. If she did so violently then she would be 'poorly bred' and her Viking blood would show through. If she reacted by throwing out insults of her own, she'd demonstrate poor character and so on.
...It was simply convenient for them to remember they were acting in the exact same manner as she would be responding in.
However when she changed the topic towards his job he did purse his lips thoughtfully. Overall he didn't have a problem with the role, it had some long hours and a lot of walking but he hadn't yet encountered the moral conundrums that others had implied he would. Then again, it seemed their young King had already identified that problem and removed that conundrum from their duties.
"It's a lot o exercise and I get to see a lot of things," he admitted. "Mostly mundane things, but every now and then something odd happens," he added and shook his head. "But the warnings I got when I was starting haven't happened, people said I would have to choose to obey the King's laws and force others out if they came over the border and weren't permitted but... I haven't had to," he clucked his tongue.
"It seemed like it was only a week after he made those changes that he also installed new guards," he clucked his tongue. "I'm exaggerating of course, we both know it was longer than a week...but before it became a problem he'd already resolved it," he shrugged. "Whether a Kizingo'zaa or their allies are welcome isn't my decision to make anymore, I've never really felt that it ever was," he admitted.
There was a pause.
"Which I suppose in the grand scheme of things is good since...well..." he tilted his head to the side. "I know a fair few of the older guards might have conflicts of interest that would have caused problems," he confessed. "It's hard to be objective if you have family that are affected, you know?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 10:47 am
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Joka laughed. It was true though, if the King displeased her aunt, she wasn't a lioness who would hesitate to take even him to task.
It was a lesson in futility that she'd learned the hard way, as a cub - more than one scuffle with another cub who'd been repeating what a parent had said, and the whispers that had followed had eventually helped her get a better handle on her temper - at least in regards to how she expressed it.
As he obligingly (and from the sounds of it, honestly) launched into a description of what his job was like, she nodded slowly, paying close attention. Most of it was what she'd expected - the far newer role the King had put in place sounded more...potentially intense. It was an impression that her sibling's comments emphasized, since they were apparently the ones tasked with enforcing the more controversial laws that may be enacted.
"That makes sense, I guess" she spoke slowly. The King's guards would have to trust the King's judgement implicitly, from the sound of it - although, for all that he'd had some very vocal opponents, she hadn't seen anything too unreasonable taking place - other than, perhaps, an aggressively vocal minority of hardline traditionalists.
"Do you like it, then?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 1:14 am
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Siarnaq considered the query briefly and then gave a firm nod of his head. He did like it, it was one of the best positions to meet others and while others were still feeling a touch unhappy, a tentative peace had settled over the pride again. The Bahari'mtoto were, for the most part, in some form of warped stability. Battle lines had certainly been drawn but things hadn't been nearly as bad as he thought they'd become.
...It was weird really.
Truthfully even Siarnaq had been concerned that those battle lines would result in strife, but common sense had kicked in and the Bahari'mtoto were doing what they did best. The vast majority were weathering the storm; while the traditionalists might be having their day in the sun the more hostile policies they had wanted simply hadn't come. In the end they'd all come out of it and the longer it continued, the more Siarnaq was beginning to suspect that it would be for the better.
To say it was a view he never thought he'd come to after observing Shui on that fateful day was an understatement.
"You know... I do," he said at last with a wry smile. "It's what I wanted it to be instead of the controversially written disaster some thought it was going to be," he shrugged. "I wanted to keep the pride safe and I can do it this way, I don't have to make any of the hard decisions if I don't want to," he pointed out. Granted if he wanted to take the reins and remove someone then he could but so far the Kizingo'zaa hadn't really bothered to try their luck...either they were busy with their new drug high or they had other matters to attend to.
All things considered the Bahari had been fortunate, even the more hostile individuals hadn't trouble them, and now would have been one of the perfect moments to try.
He'd not look that gift horse in the mouth.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2018 2:03 pm
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Joka couldn't help but smile in response, a subtle tension leaving her. "That's good to hear." She hesitated a moment.
"I've been thinking a lot about what I'm suited to, and what I want to do when I hit adulthood," she spoke slowly, as if half-expecting a critical response. She wasn't the most tactful of lionesses at the best of times, although she wasn't completely socially inept, either - and the straightforwardness of the two roles sounded like something she might find...fulfilling.
"And I keep coming back to being one of the Nyangumi." She made a face, recalling the response that had garnered, more than once. "So I wondered how much different it was from what I might be expecting, I guess."
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Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2018 5:39 am
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"Depends on..." He sighed softly. "It would depend entirely on what you'd been told or what you'd already heard," he admitted. He had almost been a Bumani, but the more he had thought about it, the more he'd realised that his place had been on the borders keeping his home safe... He had never been terribly handy with his paws and would have ended up a nuisance anywhere else!
"If your intentions are good and you want to keep the pride safe, then the Nyangumi would be suited to you," he admitted. "They aren't going to deny you the opportunity to gain your place in society, the whole point of Shui's actions were to reinforce that once rites had been taken and the individual had become a functioning member of society...then they were and always will be Bahari..."
He paused briefly and shook his head.
"I'm starting to think that that was his point all along," he admitted. "In a way I don't think he sees the children of those who have disregard for our culture are 'true' Bahari... Not yet at least, but that also doesn't mean they can't become Bahari," he murmured. "I just think that he failed to convey it that way, you know?"
...That being said, Siarnaq didn't want to be part of that political discussion, it wasn't his forte.
Nor did he want to come to a head with any of his friends by stepping into the realms of Royal Guardianship. While the role had been tempting, he didn't think he was personally capable of handling everything it entailed.
"So," he returned to the topic at hand. "If you keep coming back to Nyangumi then...You should be that," he said with a smile. "If it all goes a** and paws up then you can always ask for a change later?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2018 1:51 pm
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Joka almost smiled. Siarnaq was so earnest and kindhearted, and it made her...glad he'd sought her out, although she hadn't really wanted to see anyone, when she'd initially made her way out here. It really drove home why he was one of her favorite siblings.
"That's true. And I appreciate the honesty. I know that they won't deny me it...I guess I'm just impatient, is all." She made a face. "I know I shouldn't let a lot of it bother me to begin with, but..." she shrugged.
As he continued, half-musing aloud, she had to admit that she had never thought of it in quite that way, and while thr mindser fed into a lot of the behaviors that had driven her out to the cliffs for some solitude to begin with, it was a viewpoint that lessened, minutely, some of her bitterness over things that had nothing to do with her own actions, because it did make some sort of sense, when he put it that way.
"For an ignorant Nyangumi, brother, that almost sounded wise." She teased, her smile intended to take any sting out of the words. "And that's true, too - I guess I just want a more definite direction, and I want to get it right..." she trailed off, shaking her head at her own rambling. This had helped, no doubt, and she still had some time before she needed to decide one way or the other.
Getting to her feet with a small flick of her tail, Joka looked away from the water below, and glanced back in the direction they'd both come from. "I guess we should probably head back soon, before I earn myself a lecture on worrying the family unnecessarily." She'd been out here for some time before he'd come across her, after all...
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Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:43 am
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Siarnaq snorted, Solomon was unlikely to lecture Joka about her activities but he assumed her mother certainly would. As lovely as Tarni was, her family was comprised of several mother hens and while they had every good intention in the world... They often forgot themselves when they became overly concerned. As much as he'd like to say Joka was concerning herself over nothing, it was highly likely she'd be nagged if she didn't go back.
"You're a big girl now," he wagged a toe, but rose to his paws all the same. "You're even thinking about what to be when you 'grow up', I'd say that qualifies you to some free time," he pointed out with a wry smile. "At some point your mom is going to have to accept that it's time to fly the nest and let you go in to training!"
...Granted, Tarni would probably have no issues with that, but still.
"But it's probably a good idea all the same, your mom might be fine but your aunt..." he grinned slightly. Afina was a force to be reckoned with and he didn't want to be on the receiving end himself for knowing where his sister was. When the dust finally settled again it would probably be so much easier and for now, he wouldn't blame them for being overly protective.
"I might as well head back as well," he clucked his tongue. "Not that I have anywhere pressing to be but I can always poke my head in to another unsuspecting sibling," he mused. Who knew, maybe they'd need an extra paw or two depending on what they were up to... He was off duty for a while now, but that didn't mean he wanted to be idle.
"Keep me posted on the job thing though, ok?" he smirked. "I'll totally be your mentor."
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Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2018 8:50 pm
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